Henry j



(No Model.)

H. J.'M. HOWARD. HOSE HOLDER.

Patented Mar. 3, 1896.

A wveuboc Hairy fi owarcZ 1M a der/mug UNITED V STATES.

I ATENT FFICE.

HENRY J. M. HOWVARD, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

, HOSE-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 555,574, dated March3, 1896. Application filed March 9, 1894. Serial No. 503,035. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, HENRY J. M. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington,in the District of Oolumbia,have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Hose-Holders and I dohereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to hose-supporting racks or holders.

The object is to produce a light, strong and compact form of holder oflarge carrying capacity and capable of accommodating hose of any widthfurthermore, to afford facilities by which any portion or the entirelength of hose on the rack may be readily removed or drawn therefrom andbrought into service free'from entanglement, kinks, twists, &c., andalso by which it may be quickly and easily replaced and compactlyarranged in separately-supported loops, each of which is suspended outof contact to insure thorough drying furthermore, to provide abracket-mounting, by which the holder may be swung close in against awall and occupy a minimum space, at the same time being capable ofswinging freely about a vertical axis.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists,essentially, in a rack or holder comprising duplicate wings, arms, orplates arranged side by side, connected together, having their upperedges inclined and provided with a series of notches forming seats forloose rods to support hose in loops or festoons, and mounted to turn orswing. Furthermore, the invention consists in the various novel detailsof construction, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a view in perspective of a hose rack or holder mounted oncollar-brackets of a supply-pipe and swung close in against the wall,which position it occupies when not in use, showing the duplicate wings,arms, or plates thereof adjustably fixed to an end plate, andthe-notches or seats formed in the upper inclined face of the wings,arms, or plates,

the carrying rods upon which the hose is looped bridging the spacebetween the wings,

with the ends thereof resting loosely in the notches or seats, and thesupporting-bracket upon which the frame is swingingly mounted. Fig. 2 isa similar view of a rack orholder in operative position, with a portionof the hose drawn therefrom, ready for service, showing the manner inwhich the supporting or carrying rods are successively unseated as thehose is shed or drawn from the rack. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a commonform of bracket generally used to mount the holder on a wall. Fig. 4 isa detail View in elevation, showing a modified construction of thesupporting or carrying rod; and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective viewshowing a modified form of construction of the side plate,in which thenotches are shrouded to protect the carrying-rods from beingaccidentally dislodged.

In the drawings, A represents the rack or holder, comprising duplicateskeleton wings, arms, or plates (1 a arranged side by side and fixedlaterally adjustable in an inclined position to an end plate a Thesewings, arms, or plates, preferably triangular in form, are provided, ator adjacent to the upper inclined edge thereof, with a series of seats,notches,

or slots a and are connected to the end plate by bolts a passing throughslots 0L5 of the latter plate and entering threaded openings or socketsa of the wings, arms, or plates. By this adjustable connection thedistance between the wings may be readily and conveniently increased ordecreased to adapt the holder to any width of hose, as will be morefully explained.

B represents a plurality of supporting or carrying rods upon which thehose is hung in loops or festoons, and which are of suitable length tobridge the space between the wings, arms, or plates, with the endsresting loosely in the seats, slots, or notches thereof, and forming,when properly placed in position, a series of detachable carriersarranged on a descending incline.

C 0 represent split or sectional clamp-collars or collar-brackets ofwell-known construction, and now commonly employed to mount holders orracks on the stand or supply pipes. Each collar is provided withthreaded bolts and nuts 0 by which it may be securely clamped at anydesired height upon the pipe, also with a radial projecting arm 0 ICOhaving its extremity turned up at a right angle and reduced to form astud-spindle c, which is designed to enter an opening or socket (t inthe lug a of the end plate a Two of these collars are used andrelatively fixed, as is shown in the drawings, to support the holderwithout undue strain on the bearings, and permit of a free swingingmotion.

\Vhen the holder is to be located at a dis tance from the supply-pipe, awall-bracket 0 (shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings) is substituted for theform just described, and differs only in having both spindle-armsconnected by and forming part of a flat back plate, which plate issecured to the wall by screws, bolts, or in an yother suitable manner.

\Vhen the holder is to be swung from pipebrackets, it is preferablymounted above to clear the valve, and in placing the hose upon theholder the carrying-rods are first removed and the inner portion'of thehose, or that portion adjoining the coupling, brought up between thewings in the form of a loop, and on reachinga point slightly above thenotched faces a earrying-rod is passed through the loop and seated inthe upper set of notches. The length of hose required to form the nextlooped portion. will depend on the total length to be placed upon theholder and may be readily determined by trial or calculation. However,assuming that the length is known, the second loop is brought up betweenthe wings and a rod inserted and seated in the next lowest set ofnotches, and so on until the entire length of hose has been stored orplaced in position.

\Vhen the holders are to be placed on vehicles or vessels or located infactories or other buildings containing engines and other largemachinery, it is possible that the continuous vibratory motion wouldtend occasionally to unseat one or more of the carrying-rods. To preventoccurrences of this character, the carrying-rods may be provided withterminal projections, as shown in Fig. 4; of the drawings, which, whenthe rod is placed upon the holder, would form stops and limit thelateral play thereof.

Another simple and perhaps more eflicient construction is illustrated inFig. 5 of the drawings, which consists in shrouding the wings orproviding them with exterior guard plates to limit the lateral play ofthe rods, and at the same time protect them from dislodgement byaccidental blows.

To bring the hose into position for service, water is first admitted tothe hose by turning on the valve of the supply-pipe and the nozzlegrasped and carried toward the fire, drawing the hose from the rack,loop by loop, and

successively unseatin g the earryin g rods, which fall to the floor andmay be collected whenever convenient. The pull on the hose, as it isdrawn from the holder, serves also to cause the holder to swing freelyaround in the direction in which the hose is being drawn, thusmaterially facilitating the operation.

Among the numerous and important advantages of this rack or holder maybe mentioned, first, the large carrying capacity and the readiness withwhich it maybe increased or decreased by merely lengthening orshortening the pendent loops or festoons, or by utilizing but half ofthe number of carryingrods and double-spacin g the1n-that is to say,placing them in every second set of notches ol' the wings; secondly, therapidity with which the holder may be brought into use an d the hosedrawn or shed therefrom without risk of binding, kinking, orcntanglen'lent, and, finally, the readiness with which the hose may bereplaced and its peculiar arrangement upon the holder, in loops, eachseparately supported out of contact, with substantially its entiresurface exposed to the air, by which a rapid and thorough drying iseil'ected.

The pipe and wall-brackets herein described form no part of the presentinvention and may be changed, altered, or replaced by any other formdesired.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hose rack or holder, the combination with a supporting-bracket,of an end plate pivotally supported thereby and having slots formedtherein at right angles to its length and in vertical and horizontalalignment, independent triangular win g-arms laterally adjustable insaid slots, seats formed in the upper faces of said arms, andhose-carrying rods resting loosely in said seats, substantially asdescribed.

2. 'lhecombination in ahose rack orholder consisting of a bracket forpivotally supporting the same, having radially-projecting arms withstud-spindles formed thereon at right angles, of an end plate havinghorizontallyarranged slots formed therein, triangular wing-arms,threaded sockets formed in said win g-arms, and bolts passing throughthe slots in the end plate and engaging the sockets of the wing-arms,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY .T. M. HOWARD.

\Vitn esses:

E. II. PARRY, J'As. L. BOWEN, .Ir.

